Pete Swanson

Punk Authority

Received a 7.5 rating from Pitchfork. Following the devastating one-two punch of Man With Potential and Pro Style for Type Records, PETE SWANSON returns to his deformed warehouse techno sound with Punk Authority. After leaving cornerstone US noise duo YELLOW SWANS, Swanson made it his mission to pull apart the techno genre by the seams. This four track stomper for Software Recording Co. is by far his most damaged solo offering to date. With a sly nod to Police Academy, Punk Authority launches into a barrage of debauched, regressive noise punctuated by the kind of beats you'd more readily expect to find on an Underground Resistance 12" (And that's as effortlessly engaging as it sounds). Using a deceptively simple synthesizer/tape setup, Swanson siphons his club constructions through a hoarse mix of saturation and overdrive, resulting in something aggressive yet effortlessly foot pushing. Punk Authority might have the kind of surface grit you'd expect to come across on a hand-painted cassette tape, but at its heart is a vomited pulse half-heard through a Stuttgart toilet stall. Swanson has successfully re-tooled a genre to fit his needs, and this Punk Authority is his chance to really crack his bare knuckles.